On the Shelf

Of all the subjects I've done in watercolor, still life is the least common. Over the years most of my watercolors have been plein air sketching outdoors, with a sprinkling of interiors done when weather wasn't hospitable for outdoor work.But this subject--three figurines of mine that I see every day--has been on my mind for a while. 

The three figures are quite diverse. There is a netsuke figure, a reproduction of a famous buddha figure, and a reproduction of a gargoyle from Notre Dame. Netsuke are very small, an art form that evolved from a more utilitarian purpose into exquisite works. The buddha is a copy of the Kamakura daibutusu--an enormous bronze statute of Amitabha, a prominent buddha of East Asia. The statue is hollow, nearly 45 feet tall, built about 1252. 

Chandelier

Last weekend the weather was grey and windy. The cold wasn't bad but the lack of shadows and blustery conditions chased the sketchers indoors, mostly (one went out the the river). We went to West End Salvage, one of the places we often choose in such times. It's an architectural salvage concern in an ancient multistory brick warehouse. 

"Chandelier," wc/ink on paper

Attracted by the complex, overlapping shapes, I sat in their coffee bar, sipping a latte, and sketched. The crisscrossing set of heavy beams was one challenge and an antique chandelier that was hung from one of them was another. The only curved shape is the fixture. Getting the perspective and all the triangles and rhombi right was a challenge. 

Shoal

One of the more challenging subjects for me is water. Water is transparent, can be colorless, yet reflects light and refracts (bends) light too. Water can look like a smooth pond surface or an incredibly rough ocean. And besides all of that, water does much of it at the same time. 

"Shoal," oil on panel, 16x20 

This painting was my attempt to render in oil paint what I could see in a still reference of moving water. In this case the subject is a shallow river with a stony bottom. There are small, widely lapping waves that come to the foreground of the image. The water is clear and colorless, revealing smooth, water-shaped stones on the bottom. Light shines through and makes bright lines and spots on the rocks and pebbles. The water is less transparent and more reflective as our line of sight goes upward and rightward, showing us a slight green tinge or reflection on its surface. The slight movement of water also distorts shapes and provides cast shadows here and there. 

"Shoal" was accepted into the Salmagundi Members Spring Auction, an annual show and auction that happens both in person and online. Our club also holds a similar event in fall. This year the auctions take place on March 19 and March 26, online facilitated by an international auction webcasting worldwide. The member works offered will be visible shortly online at the club link above.

Near the River

Des Moines was founded in the early 19th century at the confluence of the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers. Today the site is just south of downtown, next to the Iowa Cubs baseball stadium. Last Saturday the group decided to take advantage of the wide open parking lot to sketch, To the east is the Des Moines, to the north and northwest is downtown, The river confluence is just south. And along the new expressway stands a log cabin at the place where Fort Des Moines was established. I found an angle that gave a view of the cabin, with the bridge over the rive and a distant view of the state capitol.  

"Fort Des Moines Cabin," wc.ink on paper

This is about 14 inches wide and 5 inches tall, across two pages in my sketchbook. The drawing was first, in graphite, then watercolors, then ink. 
 

Snow Day on Sherman Hill

This is one of my larger watercolor sketches, started last weekend outdoors but finished in the studio. This is Hoyt Sherman Place, which houses an art gallery and a large performance space that hosts many different musical acts and other touring events. 

"Snow Day, Sherman Hill," wc/ink on paper, 8x10

I sat in my car to do this--just too cold--and stopped when I began to feel a bit stale. This started with my usual graphite sketch, then watercolor, then ink, but then I added a color to the wonderfully complicated building, especially the left side, and painted in trees and shadows on the extreme left. I also darkened the values of the shadows on the left and across in front of the auditorium on the right side. 

Although I don't often add to an outdoor sketch I think the added colors and touches completed and enriched the painting.  

Sledding

Less than a week ago the high temperature was above 60. The sun was warm and the air felt like spring. Today the morning temperature was less than 10 and four inches of snow covers everything. Actually, the warm days were a real anomaly. Traditionally this month and next are snowy and cold. 

"Sledding," wc/ink on papeer

The Saturday group didn't mind the snow--they relished it in fact. That was because for the first time in a few days the sun was out, the light was brilliant, and the weather tolerable. There is a slope near the parking area where we meet, and a group of kids and parents were sledding. Most of the group stayed put in their cars and sketched the scene. 

 

Five Years Ago

"After the Big Snow," wc/ink on paper

This has been an oddly dry winter. Although we have had around a foot of snowfall, the ground outside my studio is bare and the temperature today will top sixty, Fahrenheit. Thinking about the current weather led me to look back at work from years past. To my surprise the majority show very snowy days in mid- to late February. Certainly that's not the case this year. 

This small sketch, like many done this time of year, including 2025, was done from a window in my home studio. Although it looks cold you can see spring coming in the warm ochres and faint rust colors of the distant trees. This was likely done in the morning a day or two after a heavy, wet snowfall.